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BloodX3, Cel Genesis, The Body & Dis Fig
No Fun, 7.3.24

I hadn't been to a show in 2 months. I was in desperate need of something to go to, especially as the local area didn't have good shows going for a while, and I didn't want to commit myself to going to some indie-whatever basement show that's so hotboxed you'd think there's smoke machines going off behind the stage.

I got a message from a friend from my university asking if I was going to a metal show in the area. It was on my mind so I said yes and bought the ticket. A little last minute but the band was apparently some very well regarded industrial/electronic doom metal band. As usual, I didn't know the openers at all. I guess that's the fun part about this experience... Going in blind to whatever the hell I end up listening to.

Blood X3 were first to the stage. Apparently, out of the 3 bands playing tonight, they were the only locals to come out and support. I regret to inform you all that they sounded very dull and uninspiring. In fact, so dull that I genuinely cannot remember what they sounded like. I never brought my video camera to document the show and even the photos don't entirely ring a bell. I really don't want to be too mean, though. They weren't bad. Just nothing really to ride home about, either.

Venues like No Fun love openers to be local bands. I still think it's great traction for everyone involved, good for bands to dip their toes into larger audiences. That's why I feel a little bad thinking that Blood X3 was boring, judgemental about my own scene... People have mixed relationships with their local scenes. some great bands, some bad bands. Ah whatever, when have I not went full on with lambasting a local band I don't like in these blog posts?

Cel Genesis. Boy, Cel Genesis. All I know is that screamo-hyperpop isn't entirely my thing. I know it's popular right now, but man, this was just too fucking much. I see the vision they want to make, and I respect that-- the whole "schtick" with their performances is that they essentially want their show to be an absolute loud and bright overload light show. The sound guy cranked them up to 100% on the stage speakers, and they have these crazy fast strobe lights going off constantly, changing "tempo" at different points of their music. I'm not epileptic, but every 5 minutes I stood there I would get nasueous and light-headed and would need to step aside.

However, I guess that's to give them props. I've NEVER been to a show that loud, they were far louder than one of my favorite local bands that love to tell their audience "yo, wear your earplugs!" That being said, it's always good to get a taste for a genre you never really listen to. While after this experience, hyperpop is still not really my thing, this performance was very unforgettable.

Ok... A bit of preliminary info. I'm a fan of doom metal. It teeters on ambience, drone, and metal all at once. Some artists have a far more metal like rhythmic sound, like Boris. Some can just be 30 minutes of a slowed down reverberated guitar with a backing track that consists of field recordings of slowed down musical saws and synths, like Earth and Sun O))). The Body is somewhat all of those plus a lot of electronics. Sometimes, they sound like doom metal, other times, they sound like some hybrid version

I wasn't a fan or heard of them much before I saw them. One of my friends, who was there as well, was a massive diehard fan of them their art. Me and him have fairly similar music tastes so I was open to hearing what they had to bring to the table. Based on previous listens, they seemed like a great band to disassociate to and enter a zen mode.

With them, they brought on vocalist/artist Dis Fig from Berlin, Germany. Worth mentioning that The Body was from San Francisco, so both bands came from considerably far places. As they took to the stage, a projection of some camcorder video played behind them, which shows low shutter speed footage of city lights and car headlights. They played these droning electronic pieces that sounded beautiful to my ears and could've made me fall asleep (in a good way). Each piece flowed between eachother seemlessly, something I always love in a performance. Mid way through the set, I felt the need to sit down on the venue floor and close my eyes as the sounds of electronic drone hit my eardrums and soothed my brain of anxieties and stresses.

This is the one time I wish I had brought my camcorder to record the show. This was an incredibly moving performance that I unfortunately barely remember. The photos don't do justice to jog my memory.

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